Apples hit the spot after New York City Marathon

Amy Sowder, The Packer's Northeast Editor, ran in the TCS New York City Marathon. She and other participants received a McIntosh courtesy of the New York Apple Association.
( Amy Sowder )

When you stagger across the finish line of any marathon, one of the most important things you can do is feed your depleted, hurting body. All your muscles are crying out for special treatment after the harrowing 26.2 miles they endured.

It’s critical that those damaged muscle fibers receive almost immediate nourishment so the repairing can begin. For 21 years, fresh apples grown in New York have done the job quite nicely at the TCS New York City Marathon.

The New York Apple Association provided fresh McIntosh apples for each of the 52,812 finishers of the Nov. 4th race through all five boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan. Only 15% of the 100,000 applicants are accepted into the race, which is the world’s largest marathon event. Ranging from competitive to recreational to charity runners, more than 1 million people have finished the race since its first running in 1970, when 55 people finished.

This year, the New York Apple Association provided more than 80,000 apples altogether: at pre-race events, as well as McIstosh apples inside the “recovery” bags that many finishers grab with relief, seconds after those hard-won medals are placed around their necks.

Amy Sowder, two-time NYC Marathon finisher, is the Northeast Editor of The Packer. She took her McIntosh home and ate it sliced, dipped in peanut butter.